President Donald Trump’s new ambassador-at-large in charge of combating human trafficking is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The Senate finally confirmed Barbera Thornhill in August on a vote of 51-47 after Trump first nominated her in May.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Assistant Secretary Riley Barnes announced Thornhill’s new appointment in a post on X on Oct. 13.
She’ll be reporting to Barnes.
“Ambassador Thornhill, welcome to the team. I’m proud to have such a dedicated leader join us as Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons,” Barnes wrote.
He went on to tout the importance of the role.
“Human trafficking is a grave human rights issue and a transnational crime exploiting men, women, and children for profit,” he continued.
“We will continue to go after traffickers, protect survivors, and deliver justice for the American people,” Barnes added.
Thornhill, who now heads up the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, is taking on a critical role in international diplomacy. Part of the job involves pushing foreign governments to beef up their efforts in fighting exploitation and modern slavery, according to reports.
She’ll oversee more than just policy. The annual Trafficking in Persons Report, or TIP, is a crucial document because the U.S. uses it to hold governments around the world accountable.
Thornhill also holds impressive credentials that will help her in the role.
But when Barnes introduced her, including a photo, the internet erupted, not over her lack of experience, as with most Trump nominees. Instead, social media fixated on her looks.
“How do they keep getting weirder? I’m baffled,” a Threads user wondered. Another agreed, “This cannot be an actual photo.”
Still others piled on.
“This can’t be real. What is happening here?! Why do they ALL look like they were pieced together from shreds of humans on God’s 8th day?” this commenter jokingly noted.
Of course, speculation is running rampant across social media on what kinds of procedures Thornhill has had done to her face. But plenty of women in Trump’s orbit have also had extensive work done, from plastic surgery and injections to fillers. In fact, so many, there’s even a name for it now: either the Mar- a-Lago Makeover or MAGA Face.
Even some critics say it’s unfortunate that Thornhill’s face is sucking all the oxygen out of the room, because the 78-year-old businesswoman actually has extensive credentials and a qualified background for the human trafficking ambassador-at-large job.
While she has limited experience in federal anti-trafficking policy, she brings adjacent experience to the role.
While living in Los Angeles, Thornhill worked extensively with abused women and children, and families dealing with hardships, according to reports. She served on the board of the Children’s Institute of Los Angeles and helped fundraise for The Colleagues, an organization that also helps victims of violence.
She also reportedly worked with several organizations that help children and families, including the Getty Research Institute Council, the Library Foundation of LA, and the National Children’s Chorus.
She’s from North Carolina and has studied at North Carolina State, UCLA and George Washington University.
The irony of Thornhill’s position with the Trump administration is that Trump’s Justice Department has refused to release the unredacted version of the Epstein files. The files include extensive information on the international sex trafficking of minors and young women by some of the world’s richest men.
The files mention Trump thousands of times, and other members of his current administration also appear in them.
